Philly to Start Building AW609 in August

AgustaWestland plans to begin work in August on the first AW609 TiltRotor to be produced at its Philadelphia facility. The aircraft set for production at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport site is the fourth AW609 prototype. (The third is being manufactured in Italy.) AgustaWestland has said Philadelphia will be its first final assembly facility for the AW609 as well as a flight test facility, though the aircraft will continue to be made in Italy as well. The Finmeccanica unit has consolidated its U.S. AW609 activities in Philadelphia, having merged AgustaWestland Tilt-Rotor Corp. into AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corp., under the CEO there, William Hunt. One AW609 and a skeleton crew of employees will remain at the company’s flight test facility in Arlington, Texas for the time being.